LAWRENCE Krisna Parker, professionally known as KRS-One, is an integral part of the evolution of rap and the maturing of the hip-hop nation.The seminal rapper, now 37, is one of the most philosophically enlightened emcees gripping a mike. His work is anti-violent; he bristles at demeaning terms such as “bitch” and “ho.” When crack cocaine was destroying urban youth, he rapped alerts.

While KRS-One doesn’t have the record sales of Jay-Z or Nas, he’s one of the most respected thinkers in hip-hop. So respected, he’s been invited to lecture at scores of universities, from Howard to Harvard.

KRS-One is a native New Yorker who studied at Hard Knocks High in the Bronx. He and his pal Scott La Rock were living in a Bronx homeless shelter when they started their hip-hop crew, Boogie Down Productions. After La Rock was murdered in the late ’80s, KRS-One found alternatives to the violent gangsta lifestyle.

“I’ve made it my life’s work to be the light in the dark, to be heat in the cold,” says the rapper, who sounds a little like a preacher here, and a lot like a man of the cloth on his new disc “Spiritual Minded,” his gospel-rap album released this week.

Post: How did this gospel-rap record come about?

KRS: When we started this album at the end of August, it was a different project. It was originally called “KRS-tal” – that’s a play on words between Cristal, the hip-hop drink of choice, and my name. I went to Atlanta to record it, and when I was there, someone said to me they thought that last year’s “Sneak Attack” record should have been marketed to the gospel community.

KRS: Well, “Sneak Attack” was God-centric, and we got a great response from the gospel community about it. I like gospel rap.

Post: Gospel rap doesn’t sell.

KRS: On this new album, I made art for art’s sake. I really don’t care if this sells. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to make art. This record comes from my heart. This is what I think. I wanted to make an album that a Christian family could listen to. I wanted kids to be able to blast it in their bedrooms, and their parents to feel good about what their kids were hearing.

Post: Is this a family album?

KRS: This is something the whole family could listen to together and enjoy. It is philosophical and God-centric. It might not seem like it, but it’s an extreme album artistically. This album is where the crowd is not.

Post: It sounds like a risky business proposition.

KRS: I have nothing to sell . . . I have something to tell. I know you got be crazy to do an album like this, but I had to do it.

Post: You’re a believer? God is alive and well?

KRS: Oh, yeah. No question. That is the point.

Post: Is KRS now a holy roller?

KRS: [No]. Now, I’m going to finish the KRS-tal album. After 9/11, the main-frame and the time-frame had to be interrupted for “Spiritual Minded.”

Post: The black community has always been spiritual. Has that changed in recent times?

KRS: Pockets in the black community have changed. We are living in a time when our younger generation lets things happen. They are apathetic. That wasn’t the way it always was.

Post: When do you think it started to change?

KRS: After Nixon and Watergate. People started to lose hope after that. We’ll probably never know the damage that the government’s corruption had on our society. And it has continued. Our leaders keep shocking us. Look at Clinton.

Post: Haven’t we forgiven and forgotten?

KRS: The damage is done. When our leadership is in scandal, it wipes out the trust we have for the government.

Post: How can that change?

KRS: What will strengthen the United States isn’t going to come from the government. It comes from the people. If you want justice, people have to respect one another.